sty wrote:In fact the most essential skill I learned at University was to make a cup of tea with milk and teabags (I don't take sugar) without using a teaspoon.
After all have you ever tried to find a teaspoon in a shared student kitchen?
Euuuugh... yeah, it's not pleasant is it? Despite cutlery being the easiest stuff to clean (my line used to be "it's a fucking knife, you rinse it, wipe it and put it away - two seconds") nobody does it.
PG have made our lives easier with pyramid bags (or "oh crap, a bag went through the sealing machine and got twisted... errr...hmmm idea!") which always float with one point poking out the liquid.
I used to leave it in, but it was costing a fortune in spoons (and indigestion tablets) each month, so I have to make do without that extra luxury now...
piku wrote:I then made a point to demonstrate just how easily tea stains come off using nothing more than a cloth, hot water and washing up liquid
You can get these blocks of white cleaning foam in Woolworths - cut a small lump off and rub it round the cup and the stains vanish. Quite what the stuff is I don't know but it seems to work on most unshiftable stains.
Tea:
1 teabag.
Boiling Water into Jug^H^H^HCup.
Leave for about 20 secs.
Stir and squeeze teabag.
Put teabag into compost bin.
Add milk.
20 seconds is not $British_standard_brew_time! You need to return to the Ministry of Britishness for recalibration!
With a proper brew time, squeezing of the teabag is unnecessary. Squeezing it insults the tea. Tea deserves respect and the patience to wait for the proper brewing time .
I too only ever stir a lemsip - not being a tea or coffee drinker and only have a hot chocolate if I happen to be (a) cold and (b) somewhere I can buy one ready made with whipped cream on the top.
Yak wrote:20 seconds is not $British_standard_brew_time! You need to return to the Ministry of Britishness for recalibration!
With a proper brew time, squeezing of the teabag is unnecessary. Squeezing it insults the tea. Tea deserves respect and the patience to wait for the proper brewing time .
I knew you'd post that
You wouldn't squeeze your ballsack, so don't squeeze your teabag
Yak wrote:20 seconds is not $British_standard_brew_time! You need to return to the Ministry of Britishness for recalibration!
With a proper brew time, squeezing of the teabag is unnecessary. Squeezing it insults the tea. Tea deserves respect and the patience to wait for the proper brewing time .
I prefer 2 or even 3 teabags, boiling water and a mere 10 seconds in the cup. Makes for a more aromatic, less bitter tea but just as dark as with prolonged brewing. But then I am a forriner.
As with any tool, the spoon should be handled with care and respect.
Pour the water on, give it a stir and then keep the spoon out of the cup while it brews. Otherwise it just doesn't taste right.
The spoon goes back in for the final stir and the bag removal manoeuvre, and again to mix in the milk and sugar. After that it doesn't go back in until the next brew.
You can't enjoy a nice cup of tea properly with the spoon resting against your cheek.
Yak wrote:20 seconds is not $British_standard_brew_time! You need to return to the Ministry of Britishness for recalibration!
Quite right too. Although I never count the seconds of course - it's purely feeling
Yak wrote:With a proper brew time, squeezing of the teabag is unnecessary. Squeezing it insults the tea. Tea deserves respect and the patience to wait for the proper brewing time .
Seconded. I like my tea strong but squeezing the bag is just... wrong.
I must also urgently clarify that I always remove the bag before drinking.
I have to admit, that I don't put the leaves directly in the cup/pot, but always use some kind of tea filter. A good loose tea in a tea filter still tastes better than most, if not all, good teabags IMO
Use the natural and gentle heat of the sun to brew a cup of tea.
Fill a clear glass jar or jug with water, the amount depending on how much tea you want to make.
Add either tea bags, or loose tea.
Place the jar in a sunny location (a window sill is good). Leave the tea to steep in the heat of the sun.
You may have to leave your tea in the sun for a few hours, depending on how strong you want it, how much you're making and how warm the sun is that day. Keep an eye on your jug as you may need to move it as the sun moves during the day.
When the tea has reached your desired strength and flavour, serve and enjoy.
Note:
* The lower temperature is not as likely to destroy the delicate oils and flavours of your tea.
* Final tea won't be as hot as tea made with boiling water. Makes for great iced tea.
Is that supposed to be tea? Looks like a urine sample. I hail from the land of iced tea and I still expect it to be several shades darker than that. My grandmother used to make sun tea all the time, and it came out a lovely red color.
.
